Roof or floor



(No Model.)

C. M. JENNINGS.

ROOF 0R FLOOR. No. 551,352. I Patented Deo. 10, 1895.

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` tion.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

CURTIS M. JENNlNGS, OF CT. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ROOF OR FLOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551,352, dated December 10, 1895.

Application led March 28, 1895. Serial No. 543,549. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that l,- GUETIs M. JENNINGS, of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Roofs or Floors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wooden roofs and iioors, and chieiiy to roofs for freight-cars; and the chief objects of my improvement are, first, to construct aboard roof which shall be water-tight even when its joints are open, and second, to prevent the boards composing the roof from warping and leaving openings between them.` I attain these objects bythe mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-` Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section of carroof embodying my improvement along the line l 1, Fig. 2. Fig. is a vertical longitudinal section of the same roof along the line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a'plan view of the under side of lthe upper layer of boards shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. a is a plan view of the top of the under layer of boards represented in Fig. 3.

Similar lett ers refer to similar parts thro u ghout the several views.

A, Fig. l, represents the top of a freightcar, a a being the sides, a a a o. a.' a a aa the beams supporting the roof, B the roof, and C a running-board resting on the roof.

The roof B is composed of two layers of boards, preferably running from pea-k to eaves. I) l). h o, Figs. l, 2, and 3, represent boards of the upper layer, and b b bb", Figs. l, 2, and fi, represent boards of the ylower layer. The boards IJ contain on their under sides, near each edge, alongitudin al groove b2, and near the center a preferably wider groove Ui. vThe sides of tho grooves b2 and bsare preferably substantially vertical, and all of said grooves preferably extend from end to end of the boards and run substantially parallel with cach other. Each of the boards o has four longitudinal grooves running along its upper surface, two, b4 b4, about the center, and one, b5, near each edge. The grooves b4 and If are preferably concave in cross-sec- The grooves h4 are preferably wider than the grooves b2, and when a pair of boards D' are laid edge to edge the distance from the inner edge of the groove Zf of one board, next the joint, to the inner edge of the adjoining groove t5 of the other board is greater than the width of one of the grooves b3, except where the grooves b3 are made of dierent .widths in different boards; but in any case the distance is greater than the width of the particular groove b3 which is over the grooves b5 in question. I use the word inner in the sense of next the center of the board. The upper surfaces of the boards b' are, preferably, so formed as to be higher in the neighborhood of their edges than elsewhere, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2. The boards of each layer are laid edge to edge, and the boards I) in the upper layer are arranged, with reference to the boards b'in the lower layer, so as to break joints. The joints between the boards in the upper layer are lettered 1), and those between the boards in the lower layer 117. In the roof shown in the drawings the edges of the boards in each layer are plain; but no particular forni of joint between the edges f the boards is essential. The boards b and b of the two layers are also so laid as to bring each groove b2 over, and preferably substantially centrally over, a groove b4, and each groove b3 over a joint t7 and two grooves lf b5, one on each side of the joint. The sides of the grooves b3 should be closer to the joint than the inner edges of the grooves b beneath them. l

, By arranging the boards in the manner above described a gutter is formed between them on each side of each joint h6 in the upper layer of boards and on each side of each joint 117 in the lower layer. In case water enters through a joint b, the gutters on each side of it usually suflice to carry it off and prevent its passing on toward the nearest joints bl. If any water passes the gutters next the joint b and reaches a groove t5 it is carried off by the gutter formed by that groove and the groove b3 above it. By increasing the thickness of the boards Zi at their edges I increase the difficulty in the way of any water reaching Athe joint X27.

I have three objects in the use of the grooves b2 and IJs-viz., first, to increase the size of IOO the gutters; second, to prevent the -boards from warping, and, third, to prevent water from running along the under sides of the boards I?, and in that way passing over the grooves b* and b5 and. reaching the joints D7. A further object, in the case of the grooves b3, is to make room for the upward extension of the upper surfaces of the boards b at their edges. By making the sides of the grooves b2 and b vertical the tendency of the boards l) to warp is greatly lessened, and when water, running along the under surface of one of the boards, reaches one of the corners bg it drips down into the groove beneath instead of continuing on over the latter groove, as it would be liable to do if the upper grooves were absent. As will be obvious, the grooves b2 and ,b3 may be of many different shapes in crosssection; but I consider it best to have their sides substantially vertical, not only to prevent warpin g, but also because when they are substantially vertical capillary attraction is more fully counteracted than when they are not. It is more important to have the outer sides of the grooves b2 in the boards b vertical than the other sides, as will be obvious; but I consider it an advantage to have both sides vertical, as shown, for the reason that water passing downward from the top of a groove is more apt to drip from the corner bg into a groove beneath where its downward passage is vertical than where it descends at an angle or on a curve.

In my claims, where I specify a particular number of grooves I wish it to be understood that I desire to cover either the number specified or any greater number.

I claim- 1. In a roof or floor containing two layers of boards arranged substantially parallel to each other, and so that those in the upper layer and those in the lower layer break longitudinal joints; a gutter between the two layers on each side of each longitudinal joint between boards in the upper layer; each gutter formed by a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of the board beneath the joint and a longitudinal groove in the under surface of an upper board.

2. In a roof or floor containing two layers of boards arranged substantially parallel to each other, and so that those in the upper layer and those in the layer below, break longitudinal joints, a gutter between the two layers on each side of each longitudinal joint, each gutter formed by a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of the board beneath the joint and a narrower longitudinal groove in the under surface of an upper board, each of said grooves inthe lower board having its outer side between the edges of the groove beneath it, substantially as described.

In a roof or floor containing two layers of boards arranged substantially parallel to each other, and so that those in the upper layer and those in the layer below break longitudinal joints, a gutter between the two layers on each side of each longitudinal joint between boards of the upper layer, each gutter formed by a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of the boards beneath the joint,

and a longitudinal groove, having an outer vertical side, in the under surface of an upper board, and arranged so that the outer side of the latter groove runs between the edges of the under one, substantially as described.

4. In a roof or licor containing two layers of boards arranged substantially parallel to each other and so that those in the upper layer and those in the layer beneath break joints, a gutter between the two layers on each side of each longitudinal joint, between boards of the upper layer, each gutter formed by a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of the board beneath the joint and a narrower longitudinal groove in the board above the first groove, the groove in the upper board having substantially vertical sides and both its sides running between the edges of the groove beneath, substantially as described.

5. In a roof or floor containing two layers of boards laid substantially parallel to each other and so as to break joints, a gutter between the layers ofboards, formed by a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of a board of the lower layer and a narrower longitudinal groove in the under surface of the board above, arranged so that the sides of the latter groove run between the sides of the former groove, substantially as described.

6. The combination in a roof or floor containing an upper and lower layer of boards laid substantially parallel and so as to break joints, of a longitudinal groove in the upper surface of each lower board, near each edge, and a longitudinal groove in the under surface of each upperboard, over a joint between lower boards, with its sides extending over the grooves next said joint, and running, respectively, between the inner edges of said grooves and the joint, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a roof or floor having two layers of boards laid parallel, so as to break joints, and having the upper surfaces of the under boards higher, in the neighborn hood of their edges, than elsewhere, of grooves b5 b5, on each side of each longitudinal joint between boards in the lower layer, and the groove b3, over the joint, with substantially vertical sides, overhanging the grooves b5 lr", substantially as described.

8. The combination in a roof or lioor of an upper and lower layer of boards, each board of the upper layer having three grooves in its under surface, one near each edge, and one about the center, and each lower board having four grooves in its upper surface, one near each edge, and two near the center, the boards of each layer being laid edge to edge, and those of the upper layer being arranged, with reference to those of the lower layer, so as to break joints, and to bring the grooves next the edges of the upper boards, over grooves near the center of the lower boards, and the groove in the center of each upper board over a joint between lower boards beneath, and

IOO

IIO

grooves near the edges of veach lower board, substantially as deseribed.

9. The combination of a roof or i'loor oomposed of two layers of boards b and b', arranged so as to break longitudinal joints, of the grooves b2 and b3, in eaeli upper board, and the grooves b4 and b5, in each lower board, arranged and operating` substantially as described.

l0. The combination of two layers of boards laidso as to break longitudinal joints, and a gutter between the layers of boards and between a longitudinal joint, between upper boards, on one side, and a longitudinal j oint, between lower boards on the other side,forn1ed CURTIS M. JENNINGS.

Witnesses MARK MOODY, B. F. REX. 

